Why Don't You See?
by White Shade
Summary: After a small incident with Daisy, Waluigi finds that he and Daisy are both looking for something more to their lives. Both find exactly what each is looking for...each other? Rated T for content and future stuff, just to be safe. First Mario fic.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter One: You Idiot!**

"Yeah, it'd be just perfect!" Wario told his buddy. "Then, after it explodes, we run, and then we ruined their fun little tennis tournament!"

Waluigi sighed. This was Wario's worst idea yet. Nothing had been working out lately, as usual. Mario and Luigi always managed to conquer over their plans. They even tagged with Bowser, but even then, Mario and Luigi stopped them. Those brothers were almost unstoppable.

"No, no!" Waluigi said. "That won't work...we need to think of something better." Wario gave a 'hmph' at Waluigi, not approving of this. The day would only go on for so long, and by the time another plan was thought up, the tournament would be over.

"Fine then," Wario said. "You go off and do whatever you want. I'm ambushing this place." He took out his TNT, matches and finally put on some pants. They were in the basement, below the dome where the tournament took place.

Wario walked off by himself, but Waluigi just wanted to get out of here. He didn't want to be punished for Wario's plan if he ever got caught. That Toadsworth could give a good punishment. Not that he knew that from experience, he just heard it said.

Waluigi walked around the Mushroom Kingdom, everyone giving him a stare as he walked through. Anyone who wasn't at the tennis tournament was at home doing some kind of busywork. He was getting sick of those glares from people, and being looked at as so vile and evil.

He got sucked into these life-long tricks with Wario ever since he and Wario were younger. Mario and Luigi always did good things and seemed to be the perfect students, the perfect children, the perfect everything. Then, when Mario and Luigi were invited to the castle to fix their plumbing because the usual plumber got in a horrific accident, Princess Peach became very fond of Mario.

So, now he was being invited to the castle for reasons _other_ than plumbing, and Luigi seemed to never complain. They had it good. Bowser only glorified Mario, and Luigi won a mansion! Could they be anymore lucky? That is, after Luigi got rid of the ghosts that were supposedly all over the place in that mansion.

Waluigi met Wario by accident in the dark allies of the forest. He'd been walking home one day when he heard a rustling noise and lots of shouting. A Koopa Troop seemed to be getting rid of Wario. When Waluigi saw what the matter was, he took Wario back with him. He didn't have that kind of heart to just leave someone suffering. He'd done some terrible things in his past, but to just leave Wario out in the storming rain with his body covered by his blood from all the wounds he sustained...Waluigi couldn't do that.

Wario was the character to take revenge. Waluigi started helping him with all his ridiculous ideas to spoil Mario. He never knew what the past between Wario and Mario was, but he didn't care enough to find out.

Now, he was tired of everything he'd been doing. He wondered how he could ever change though. He'd been living this way for years. He came to a park no one else seemed to be occupying. He sat on the children's swing, slowly moving back and forth.

"Why?" he asked himself. "Why did it have to be me?"

He then heard an explosion from far away. He looked into the distance and smoke was rising from the dome.

"That idiot. He actually did it," Waluigi said. He didn't think Wario would ever go alone, for he never had before. It appeared he really had something against Mario.

* * *

><p>"Whoa, Whoa Whoa Whoa!" he heard a voice in the distance.<p>

"AH!"

He looked around, wondering who it was. Whoever it was, they were in some trouble. He hadn't seen anyone else in the park when he came in. There must've been someone else hiding. They likely didn't see him either.

"Little help over here! Anyone?" the voice called. It was a girl, Waluigi could tell that much. He began walking towards the voice, and it took him to a small forest area. Instantly, he saw her, for she stuck out like a sore thumb wearing her yellow top and orange shorts.

"Daisy?"


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two: Just Wario?**

"Stop! You there!" A toad was yelling. He could see Wario a few feet from him, and he was trying to let everyone else know. A troop of toads followed Wario, but the smoke made him hard to see.

"Get him!" Toadette exclaimed from the tennis court. "Don't let him get away!"

"They won't let him get away," Toadsworth reassured her, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"Way to interrupt a tennis match," Luigi said. Luigi had been playing Yoshi at the time of the explosion.

"How much do you wanna bet it's Wario and Waluigi again?" Mario replied.

"They always have to ruin things for everyone!" Peach exclaimed. "Mario's probably right."

"Hey Peach," Luigi asked. This had been on Luigi's mind for a long time today. "Where's Daisy today?"

"I don't know," Peach told him honestly. "She never signed up for the tournament. Weird huh?"

That was strange for Daisy not to be here. She came to all these sporting events. Heck, she was usually _in_ them, sometimes kicking everyone else's butt.

"Maybe she's sick," Toadette suggested. Luigi was trying to think of where Daisy might be, but he had no clue.

Peach nodded, and they waited together as toads worked around the clock to clear out the smoke, find the intruders who messed everything up, and to reorganize the tournament. Luigi and Yoshi would require a rematch.

"Oh, what a mess," Toadsworth said, looking at the schedule of players of matches left to go. This was the largest tournament yet, and now it had to be pushed back by who knows how many days.

"What's wrong?" Donkey Kong asked coming over with Diddy to see what was going on.

"Everything will have to be delayed, there's nowhere to play anymore! The dome is ruined and everyone might be stuck here for another week, maybe two depending on what was damaged," Toadsworth said.

"That's horrible!" Peach exclaimed. "How will we ever finish now?"

"Toadsworth!" a toad came up and said. "We have caught the intruder!"

"Do you know him?" the old toad asked.

"Well...yeah! It's Wario," the toad said.

"Find Waluigi then," Peach told the toad.

"Waluigi wasn't there," the toad said. "no one saw anyone else exit the dome after the explosion. And he wasn't on the cameras. Waluigi's not here."

"Hmmm," Mario said. That was a curious thing.

"Impossible," Luigi said. "Those two are always together. He has to be around here somewhere."

"Keep searching," Toadsworth commanded. "If you find him, bring him back, but I don't want 50 toads on this investigation for Waluigi. If he's not here then we'll have wasted our time looking for someone who... wasn't even here during the explosion. Take 10 on a search party."

"Yes Sir!" the toad said, running away from them with a party of 10.

"Humph, Sir..." Toadsworth said. "It makes me feel old."

"That strange," DK said. "No Waluigi. Well, come on Diddy. We gotta get back to Cranky." The Kongs walked out of the dome arena.

"He's right, that is quite odd," Peach said. "They always ruin whatever we're doing together."

"Yeah, usually," Mario said. "We'll get to the bottom of this. Don't worry, Princess. I'm sure we'll find a tennis court somewhere around here. We could always let them on the private court. This is a special condition, after all."

"That would make the schedule off by only a few hours," Toadsworth said with hope that the princess would agree with Mario. "We may need an extra day but it's better than a week..."

Peach sighed. "Yeah, that seems to be the only option right now, doesn't it?"


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three: Waluigi?**

There were Piranha Plants all around these woods, but Daisy hated those things. They _could_ be nice, but she was still frightened of them, no matter what.

Waluigi saw a notebook or a journal of some kind on the ground, but its author was 30 feet up in the air. How did she even get into the tree?

Waluigi contemplated for a little while. This was his chance to do something good, but would she even trust him? He was her only help at the moment, so maybe she wouldn't have a choice. He hadn't done something good in a long time.

"Fall," he called, positioning himself under her so he could catch her.

"Who's there?" she asked, still a little worried.

"Does it matter?" he asked. "Just let go. I'll catch you..."

"I don't know about this," Daisy said, trying to grip the tree, but her arms were getting tired.

"I promise," Waluigi said then, realizing what he just said. It seemed so unlike him. He never made promises to people, least of all Daisy. He debated for a split second about not keeping his word, but he changed his mind as he saw Daisy struggling to hold on.

"Okay...ah!" she fell, trusting this complete stranger. She couldn't see who he was, but she had to trust him. She'd come into the park alone, so she was lucky there was even someone else around.

Waluigi held out his arms, catching Daisy perfectly. She fell right into him, her back facing the ground and her eyes tightly shut. He was nervous about when she would opened her eyes. She'd see him, and then she'd think the worst, like everyone else did.

Daisy slowly opened her eyes to see she hadn't fallen to the ground, which was a huge relief. She could have been seriously hurt. She looked up to see...

"Waluigi!" she exclaimed. He let her down, and she rushed for her journal and pen that fell before she had. She looked back at him.

"You didn't read it, did you?" she asked.

"What?" Waluigi asked. "No, no! I couldn't have. It's sitting in the exact place I found it."

"I could have managed myself you know," she said. Daisy could be quite stubborn at times.

"Yeah, calling for help on anyone else around you is managing perfectly fine," he said, in sarcasm.

"If I would have known it was..." she began.

"I know!" he said. "You wouldn't have fallen. But you did, and now you're fine. I should probably be going. Don't want to be seen talking to me, now would you? How about we pretend this never happened?"

She didn't respond to him, not believing this. Waluigi _helped_ her out. He may have even saved her from being seriously hurt or worse.

Waluigi was starting to walk away.

"Wait," she said, making him stop, mostly in surprise she'd even want him around. "I'm being ungrateful. Th...Thank you for... saving me. I should feel lucky someone else was around."

The princess brushed her journal off and stuck the pen back inside of it.

"I..I'm not going to mention this to anyone," Daisy said. "It's...not necessarily believable. But, thank you. I won't forget that it happened."

"Heh, I'm not going to mention this either," Waluigi said, smirking. "Well, now I get to go take the blame for something I didn't do."

"Why would you have to do that?" Daisy asked, walking closer.

"Didn't you hear the explosion?" Waluigi asked.

"Did I hear it?" she asked, her eyes widening. "It's what made me lose my balance in that tree! What was it anyway?"

"The dome for the tennis tournament. Wario went and tried to blow it up," Waluigi said. She gasped, then she stopped for a moment as she realized Waluigi wasn't with him then.

"Oh!...wait, you're not with him...so why would you be blamed?" she asked.

"He'll throw me under the bus or say I just got away or something," Waluigi said.

"The proof is in your favor though," she said. "You were never there."

"I was, but when Wario told me his plan...I just wasn't going to do it. I walked out on him. Came here instead," Waluigi said.

"You walked away from doing a bad thing?" she asked, her eyebrows lifted. She was obviously surprised by this realization.

"Yeah," he answered, a small smile on his face. "I guess I did. If I may ask a question now."

"Sure, go ahead. I supposed I've asked plenty already. Sorry about that," Daisy told him.

"What brings you here? I thought you'd have been up there with them at the tournament. You are, after all...one of them, as I would put it," Waluigi asked.

"Well, actually...I never signed up. I didn't want to I guess. I came here to think, I suppose...about other things besides sports and hanging with Mario and Luigi," Daisy explained.

"Hmm, me too," Waluigi said. "I mean, I came to think, not the Mario and Luigi part."

"Really?" Daisy said. She was having her fair share of surprises today. "Well, no one's around yet...I can't believe I'd ever say this but...you wanna talk a while? We should go somewhere else. I don't like Piranha Plants so much."

Waluigi's eyebrows now rose too. Did Daisy just asked him to stay awhile with her and talk? How could he refuse?

"Sure," he accepted. "I know of a better spot."

They walked together to a more fitting location. There was a comfortable area with a waterfall and a spring. People came and swam here all the time, but with the tournament, no one was here today. Waluigi remembered this spot from when he was very young.

They sat down together, and began to talk about...anything really.

"So...you hate Piranhas eh?"


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four: Funderful**

"Do we really get to play on the princess's private court?" a Koopa Troopa asked Yoshi.

"Yeah, apparently so. The dome is destroyed, so I guess to not delay everything by a week we have to go there," Yoshi said.

"That's exciting," Shy Guy added. "No one really goes on there."

"No duh!" Paratroopa said. "It's a PRIVATE court."

That was the talk amongst the competitors, even though Peach wasn't too happy about it. Only Mario and her have ever played on that court. Luigi never even touched it. Well, he and Yoshi would be the two up first.

* * *

><p>"Where's Waluigi?" Toadsworth asked Wario when he was taken into custody by the toads. There was still no sign of his partner.<p>

"Pfft, I dunno," Wario said. "Your guess is as good as mine." They weren't having any luck. It seemed as though either Wario was defending Waluigi, or he really just wasn't part of Wario's plan.

"Well, when did you last see him?" Toadsworth asked.

"I ain't gonna tell you that, old man!" Wario spat.

"Was he involved in any of your plans?" the toad asked, but this time, Wario stopped talking. Now that there was no way to get any information out of him, Waluigi's whereabouts were a mystery.

"He's not talking to me," Toadsworth said.

"I don't see Waluigi, so let's stop looking for him. He's long gone by now even if he were here," Toadette said.

"She's right," Mario said. "Let us continue the tournament and forget about this for now."

"Forget!" Toadsworth exclaimed after gasping. "Master Mario! I do believe this must be solved. And as quickly as we can! That dome was lots of money to build and now it's a wreck. Wario can't pay for a darn cent of it, we all know that!"

"Calm down," Peach said. "Let's just get back to the tournament. Have some toads put Wario in the castle dungeon for now. We can't deal with him now." Toadsworth grumbled but followed her orders.

* * *

><p>"How do you think they're fairing over at the dome?" Daisy asked, dipping her feet in the water.<p>

"I can't say, but since Wario hasn't come looking for me yet, I'll assume they've caught him," Waluigi said.

"Ya know, for you being...you," Daisy said, looking at him. "We have some surprising commonalities."

"I agree," Waluigi replied. "I was surprised to find out you wrote in a journal. You didn't seem like the type to write."

"You didn't seem like the type to enjoy Italian food," Daisy said. "Or to have known French very well at one point."

"I am a man of many surprises, ma chérie" Waluigi said, looking up at the sky. "How long have we been here anyway?"

"I don't know," Daisy said. "Why? Do you have somewhere to be?"

"No, I just...didn't know if they canceled the tournament. People might come here, and gossip..." Waluigi began.

"Spreads like fire," Daisy finished. "I know. I've had my fair share."

"Haven't we all?" he sighed to the air. Daisy sighed too as Waluigi sat next to her. He took off his shoes and socks, letting his feet soak in the water. "I don't think anyone's comin', but if they do, we can split."

There was a silent moment between them, and Daisy hugged herself with her arms. She was thinking, deeply for once in her life.

"That sounds so...depressing," Daisy said after a few moments.

"What does?" Waluigi asked.

"The fact that...whenever someone else comes, we have to separate because we're so different, yet the same because I could never be seen with you. That's something I'm not sure that I like anymore," Daisy explained.

"You mean you actually...like me?" Waluigi asked.

"Well...yeah. I mean, how can I not? After finding all these things about you I never knew before. You haven't tricked me or done anything mean to me so far. You saved me. That sounds like something Mario or Luigi would do," Daisy told him truthfully.

"Daisy," Waluigi said, looking at her, this time sincere. "I'm going to ask you something, but please, don't judge me on this. Don't take offense either. Promise me this."

"Okay," she agreed. "I promise."

Waluigi sighed. "Have you ever-have you ever thought that Mario and Luigi were _too_ perfect? Like they had no flaws and only did good things? Have you ever thought they were too good sometimes?"

Daisy thought about this question, and the more she thought about it, the more she realized...

"Hey, you're right," Daisy said. "I mean, not to insult them or anything, but yeah, Mario does seem like he's too goody goody sometimes. I mean, when he and Peach started hanging out all the time, he just seemed like he was the perfect friend. At least, that's all she said to me about him. 'oh Mario's great' and 'he's so cute sometimes...' ugh, I hate girly girl talk like that!"

"You and Peach talked about Mario?" Waluigi asked.

"SHE talks about Mario. I listen to her. I think Luigi has his eye on me, and with Mario and Peach having that obvious-connection-everyone-except-them-sees-it kind of thing, it may have reached Luigi's head that maybe him and I would connect in the same way," Daisy said.

At this, Waluigi couldn't believe what he was hearing. He and Daisy were talking about other people and relationships. That seemed eccentric for just talking to her for a few hours. However, Waluigi found that he enjoyed this type of connection with someone. Wario and he were never this close. They never talked like he and Daisy were doing.

"Well, do you like Luigi?" Waluigi asked, though for some reason, he had a difficult time asking that question.

"I...I don't know," Daisy answered. "I don't really feel I should be around him all the time. We've talked, but I didn't feel that there was a chemistry or anything. We're just friends. In my eyes that's what we are."

"Have you ever...had that special connection with someone?" Waluigi asked.

"No, I _wish_," Daisy said. "I haven't had much luck in the romance department. I guess I'm just not attractive and timid like Peach, with her perfect blond hair and being so well-mannered. I'm just not like that. I like to-"

"Get in the dirt sometimes," Waluigi suggested.

"Yeah," she said after a small pause. "Hey, you're listening to me very well."

"Well, you have interesting things to say, and just because you don't have blond hair that lays perfectly every time you brush it doesn't mean you're not attractive," Waluigi told her.

He couldn't believe what had just happened. He just _complimented_ her! He hadn't given a compliment to anyone in years. Saying nice things wasn't part of his speech for the past few years either. It was like something inside of him was urging to grow back. Perhaps a more caring side of him he once had but lost after he'd met Wario.

Daisy just looked at him after he said that.

"Really?" she said, looking at herself. "You think I'm...pretty?" Her eyes blinked a few times. Waluigi looked over Daisy...carefully too. He preserved every moment he spent just looking at her.

"Yes," he answered.

"Even when I do this?" she asked, taking off the crown, splashing her face with water to rid herself of the make up Peach had put on her this morning, and messing up her hair so it straightened out. Waluigi looked at her again.

"You look more like yourself," Waluigi said. "I think you still look like a princess." She looked at her reflection.

"Nah, you're just saying that to make me feel good," Daisy said, lying back and thinking about how weird she just sounded saying that to Waluigi.

"I'm not lying to you. I think you still look like a princess," Waluigi said again.

"Thank you," she said a little airy. She tried straightening her hair again so it looked better, and she tried to put the crown back on, but Waluigi stopped her.

"No, don't do that," he said, reaching out a hand to stop her from putting the crown on. "You looked perfectly fine without that thing." Daisy set the crown with her journal.

"Too bad I don't have my tennis racket. I'd play a game," she said.

"Next time, I'll play you," he said.

"Next time?" Daisy asked.

"The next time we have the opportunity. How about next week?" he asked.

"Um...sure. Where would we meet?" she asked.

"What's wrong with right here? It's kind of our spot now, don't you think?" Waluigi said. Daisy agreed, then she took out her cell phone.

"Here," she told him her cell number. "Text or call me if anything changes." He gave her his number in return, and they saved each other as a contact in their phones.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five: There You Are! **

Daisy walked over to the dome, finding only toads working on it. There was no one else in sight. Her and Waluigi had gone their separate ways after the park. She thought about what had just happened to her on the walk over to the dome. Waluigi saved her life, she talked with him for hours, and then she gave him her number! Waluigi of all people too! He'd even told her she 'still looked like a princess' without the perfect hair and crown.

She replayed that scene over and over in her mind. It just seemed as though that would never happen to her, especially with Waluigi. When she came to the dome, she asked a toad what had happened to the tournament.

"They're all out playing on Peach's private court. It helped with the schedule apparently. They'll need an extra day," a toad explained.

"Thanks," she said.

She then made her way to the castle and through the entrance. The private tennis court wasn't too hard to find. There was still dirt in the castle from where everyone was stepping. _There weren't enough toads to clean the castle? _Daisy thought. _Man, that dome must be destroyed._

When she emerged from the castle walls, there was a lively match and a roaring crowd to go along with it. It had been a singles tournament and at the moment, it was Shy Guy versus Diddy Kong.

The press was everywhere, and all the newscasts were covering the tennis tournament and the new private grounds that the players had to privilege to play on. Daisy figured this would only happen one time. Peach probably was hating the fact that all these people were moving in and out of the castle. Then they were playing on her private court where only her and Mario had played...sheesh, that must be a hard thing for Peach to handle.

It made Daisy smirk a little. Peach had to have all those luxuries and then when things like this happen, she can't stand other people all over her stuff. _Toadsworth must have convinced her somehow,_ she thought. Daisy herself hadn't even been on this court.

For some reason, Daisy didn't want to be in the flashing lights of the cameras and talking to tons of people. She just wanted to get out of this heat and have something cold to drink.

After being only a few minutes out there, she came back inside the castle. She found the kitchen, and she decided to not make a mess and just grab herself a glass of water with some ice.

The ice made the water so cold, she had to stop drinking it after a few seconds because her throat was turning numb. She got herself another glass after she'd finished that one, but this time, she walked around the castle instead of staying in the kitchen. With the glass still in her hands, she sipped on it now, wanting to conserve what she had before going to get another if she really wanted to.

She took her time walking around, admiring some of the artwork (some) around the castle. She didn't stray too far from the tennis tournament but she went far enough away so she wouldn't have to hear the crowd roaring and booing. She set the glass on a small end table and sat on the red and pink love seat. She set her journal and crown next to her, and she stared at the crown.

'You looked perfectly fine without the crown'...his voice still existed in her head, but she didn't mind. It was a nice thing he had said to her. Compliments like that stuck around in her mind for a long while after they'd been said.

No one had ever said that to her before. It was always about being perfect. About being like Peach, always trying to mind her manners, not getting her dresses dirty, having her hair lay as she desired even if it took a smoking curling iron. Talk about damage to a girl's hair.

"There you are!" a voice exclaimed, startling Daisy so that she almost tossed the crown into the air. She hadn't though, and when she looked up, it was just Luigi.

"Hi Luigi," Daisy greeted.

"Where have you been? I've been asking Peach multiple times today," Luigi said, sitting on the love seat next to her after she'd moved her things to the end table along side the glass of water that was by now condensing and producing a small wet ring on the table.

"Peach told me you didn't sign up for the tournament," he said then. "Why not?"

"Oh, I don't know," Daisy replied. "I just didn't feel like entering. I've done my share of tournaments. I just thought I'd sit this one out."

"Oh," Luigi said. "That's not like you." Daisy thought back to her conversation with Waluigi. Luigi didn't know who she was! How could he say such a thing like that when he didn't even know what her favorite color was? She tried not to let this comment get to her and control herself. She succeed.

"I suppose not," she said. "It's really warm outside too." She took another drink of her ice water, still feeling that rush of an arctic breeze down her throat that felt so amazing.

"Yeah, but being in the crowd is quite disgusting," Luigi said. "Are you going to come out and watch?"

"Maybe later," she told him. "Right now, I think I'm just going to sit here."

"Okay," Luigi said, standing back up. She could hear the hint of disappointment in his voice, but she would go out and watch sometime today still. He needn't worry.

She found herself longing to be back with Waluigi. Sure she was in the most luxurious castle for miles around, but that could never replace her need for someone's understanding and a close listening ear. Waluigi had those qualities, and Luigi didn't even stay with her. Perhaps he had the next match.

She took out her phone and texted Waluigi already:

_At Peach's castle. They moved the tournament onto the private court. Bored._


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six: A Storm of Text Messages**

Daisy did go outside to watch the tournament. She had been just in time, for the last match was about to begin. Toadsworth sat on the judge's chair, up high to observe the playing field. The match consisted of Birdo and Boo. Daisy remembered playing Boo, and what she recalled most were his tricky shots. Birdo looked pretty confident today though. Still, Daisy's money was on Boo.

"Hey Daisy," Mario said when she came to the front so she could see the match better.

"Hi Mario," she replied.

"Did Luigi find you yet? He'd been looking for you all day," the plumber said.

"Really? Well, yes I did talk to him," Daisy told him. She stayed and watched the rest of the match with Mario. Peach couldn't have been too far away either, but to her surprise, she didn't show up until the last set.

Not that Daisy talked a lot with Mario. They shared some small conversation such as what they've been doing recently and if anything new or exciting had happened to either of them. Daisy considered him a friend, for he'd even saved her one time. Peach used to talk about Bowser and how horrible it was when she was kidnapped. Then, she'd always glorify Mario and make him sound all heroic and sweet. However, when Daisy brought up Mario saving her, Peach went silent, and Daisy didn't know if she had struck a raw nerve with Peach or if she just wasn't listening.

Daisy figured she'd never know, but for the sake of their conversation, she just went along with what Peach said about Mario. She never again brought up Mario saving her. Peach can have Mario, not that Daisy wanted Luigi the same way.

* * *

><p>The next week, the tournament was over, and traffic in the Mushroom Kingdom had quieted by a lot. Daisy could fall asleep easier nowadays, but after she'd received a text from Waluigi, she found that she couldn't wait until their tennis match.<p>

_How about tomorrow?_ That was what he'd texted her and she replied with her approval for the date he'd set up. Not that she was going on a date with Waluigi, just the day he'd planned was what she approved of.

For the rest of that day though, she seemed to get a lot of messages from Luigi. It was always something like 'call me when you get the chance' or 'hey' or something like that. She'd answered to a few, but the conversation seemed to always die. Then, a few hours later, he'd text her again. These texts would be tolerable to Daisy if she'd put her phone on silent, but at some of those times, she was also texting Waluigi. She'd set the two to different ringtones after a few hours.

The next day, Waluigi waited for Daisy by there meeting place. She was a little late, but he didn't mind waiting. He had his tennis racket ready to go, and he'd even brought a few bottles of water for both of them in case she'd forgotten something like that.

"Waluigi!" Daisy called. He turned to see her in a tennis outfit, and there was not a crown in sight. Her hair was even straight. She came to him, asking if he was ready.

"You bet," he told her and they walked onto the new tennis courts in the park. They had just been built as the tournament was going on. Peach probably requested that. Otherwise, they'd have gone to another place to play.

They were playing singles, and Daisy rather enjoyed Waluigi's company and being his opponent. He was a good tennis player, and the both of them had gotten an active workout. They made each other run for the ball. When they went to take a break, Waluigi had been in the lead, and Daisy sat down to drink a bottle of water. She was sweating pretty good. So was Waluigi.

"You are quite the player," Waluigi said. "I don't recall ever versing you in a tennis match before."

"Me either, but I must say you have one nice backhand," Daisy told him. That was her weakness, the backhand. She checked her phone to find 15 text messages, and all of them except one had been from Luigi.

"Whoa!" she said. Waluigi saw she was looking at her phone, and he checked his, but Wario hadn't contacted him.

"What?" he asked, looking at her. She looked back, her eyebrows raised.

"Fifteen text messages in the past few hours!" she exclaimed.

"What'd you miss?" he asked with a smirk. She smiled back.

"I have no idea," she said, closing the phone. "I'll check them later. Let's finish the game."

In the end, it was Daisy who won the match, but only by one game. Waluigi kept her on her toes, that was for sure. She couldn't spot a weakness with him, except maybe when he got tired, but she did too so she couldn't call that a weakness.

"Daisy!" another voice called. The two looked over to see Luigi coming towards them.

"What do we do?" she asked in a frantic panic.

"Just shake hands, act like it was a bet, then I'll walk away. See you around. I'll text you," he told her. She nodded and they walked outside the gates, shook hands then Waluigi walked away.

"Hey Daisy, did you get my messages?" he asked.

"I was just about to check my phone," she said. "I'd been playing tennis for the past few hours."

"Oh...with Waluigi? What'd he do to you now?" Luigi asked, tightening his fists.

"Nothing," she said. "It was a bet, I won. No big deal." As she was checking her phone and walking with Luigi, she received a text from Waluigi.

_Good game. Maybe next time I'll help you with your backhand._

She smirked and then after reading all of Luigi's 'call me' and 'hey, what are you doing today?' messages, she texted back:

_I'd like that, and maybe next time I'll go easier on you. :)_

* * *

><p>Waluigi smirked after he received that message. He then closed his phone and headed for home, where his landline was filled with Wario's voice.<p>

Another stupid plan for another stupid day, but then he found a voicemail from Boo on his phone.

'_Hey Waluigi, this is Boo. Me and Shadow Mario are going to play a round of golf at the Bowser Badlands on Thursday. Bring someone else and we can play doubles. Call me if you get this and if you're going to go.' _


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven: Plans**

"What do you think?" Waluigi asked Daisy as they sat at their spot. Daisy had snuck away from Peach's castle (that's where she'd been staying lately), and she agreed to meet him here so they could talk. The last thing she expect was a proposition to go golfing at Bowser's Badlands course.

"Well, I'm not sure," Daisy said. "When is it again?"

"Two days from now," Waluigi told her.

"I don't know if I can get away," Daisy said honestly. "Peach might keep me in there or the Mario brothers will come over."

"If Mario comes over then Peach should be occupied," Waluigi said.

"And if Luigi comes..." she asked slowly.

"Say you have to go to the bathroom, and then disappear," Waluigi told her. She wasn't so sure about that one. It make create a search for her if Luigi couldn't find her. Instead, she thought of her own plan to get out of the castle.

* * *

><p>"Hey Daisy!" Peach called from the first floor the next morning. "Mario's coming over tomorrow. Luigi might come too."<p>

Daisy had just come out of her room on the second floor of the castle and she was greeted by the bright sunlight shining through every window on the first and second floor. She preferred to keep her room dark and wake up gradually. It seemed Peach was already bright-eyed and bushy-tailed.

"Great," Daisy replied, yawning. "So, what are you doing today?"

"I'm going to play the greens with Birdo today," she told her. "Yoshi's off somewhere else today and had to cancel. It's too bad. I was hoping to play that little tennis champion later. Did you want to come along?"

"No thanks, you go ahead," Daisy told her. "I'll just do...a few things here and there today. You go ahead."

"Okay, well...see you later!" Peach said as she picked up her golf equipment and went out the door.

_Well this is great_, Daisy thought to herself as she made her way into the kitchen for breakfast. _Mario and maybe Luigi. If he is, then I have to sneak away. If not, then I have nothing to worry about._

She checked the clock and realized Peach must've been up early. It took that girl an hour to get ready and that's if she didn't take a shower in the morning. Otherwise, it was almost two hours. Right now, the clock said it was eight am. Daisy was still in her pajamas for crying out loud!

"Ah, good morning Daisy," Toadsworth greeted as he came into the kitchen.

"Hey Toadsworth," she replied as she pulled some frozen waffles out of the freezer.

"Oh, that looks pretty delicious. Would mind popping me down three of them?" he asked. The castle had more than one toaster for occasions like this and she popped down four for her and three for the old toad.

Toadsworth sat at the table, reading a newspaper. The toads that served Peach weren't at the castle until 9 am, so they were pretty much on their own until then. Toadsworth was the only toad that stayed at the castle itself, and Daisy didn't mind making breakfast for the two of them.

As they ate breakfast, Toadsworth set down the newspaper and asked what was new with Daisy. She didn't say much, except that she'd been doing some writing lately. She didn't dare mention Waluigi, but Toadsworth was wiser than that. He didn't know what was up with Daisy, though he never brought this up directly at the table. He just thought she seemed a little off for the past few days.

"Why didn't you sign up for the tournament last week?" he asked, thinking he could get some clue out of her. "You might have won."

"I don't know, I guess I figured I'd just skip this one. I've been in many of tournaments before. I suppose I just didn't want to," she told him. "Besides, made Yoshi's day didn't it?"

"What did you do instead? I couldn't help but overhear Luigi and Mario talking about you," Toadsworth told her.

"I went to the park and wrote some more," she told him honestly. It just wasn't the whole truth.

"Hmm, alright. I suppose that's a fair reason," he said before taking another few bites of breakfast. "You know, that Luigi...I think he fancies you."

"You think?" she asked, though she didn't sound as if she were too interested to Toadsworth. Either way, he continued.

"Yes, as a matter of fact, I think I might know it. I stood up there on that chair all day during that tennis tournament, and on the breaks, I could see Luigi looking around. It was like he was trying to find someone, and Mario was trying to cheer him up it seemed," Toadsworth said. "If he does like you...that way, would you even be interested in him?"

This was a weird set of questions coming from Toadsworth. If Daisy didn't know better, she'd say he were trying to snoop around and see what she'd been up to lately.

"I...I'm not sure," she told him after eating and taking her dishes to the sink. "I mean, he seems like a nice guy, I just don't know him well enough. But people can surprise you." She picked up his dishes and put them in the sink next.

"That's true...so very very true," Toadsworth said as she walked off.

* * *

><p>The next day, Waluigi received a text from Daisy about the possibility that Luigi would be at the castle today. She seemed unsure, but she then told him she had her own plan. He trusted her to get away, so he'd already told Boo he'd be coming to the Badlands at about 10 this morning, and he'd have his partner. He told Daisy this information, and she took it all into consideration.<p>

She was up at 7 am to get ready. Apparently Peach was up too. Daisy could hear her from down the hall. She put her normal top and shorts on, but she didn't even bother to do her hair or wear the crown. She put her golf clubs where she could have quick access to them. She was to meet Waluigi at 9:30 in the park, and Daisy always made her deadlines. Always.

Mario came over around 9, but there was no sign of Luigi.

"Where's Luigi?" Daisy asked after Peach greeted Mario at the door.

"He'll be here later," Mario said. "He had a few errands to run. He should be joining us in about an hour."

_Perfect_, Daisy thought as she went back upstairs. She waited until the two of them went onto the volleyball court. Mario had an entire athletic bag with him today, so apparently they had plans. Well, so did she.

She grabbed her things and was about to head out the door...

"And where are _you_ going?" that familiar voice asked. Toadsworth.

"Out," Daisy answered, and then tried to get out again.

"Ah ah ah!" Toadsworth stopped her again. "Where? It appears you're golfing, but where are you going golfing?"

Daisy didn't answer him.

"Come on," Toadsworth said. "Just tell old Toadsworth where you're off to."

"Only if you promise not to tell Peach, Mario, and Luigi, and you don't ask me anymore questions," Daisy said, turning around. He'd caught her, and she'd never get out if Toadsworth was around and knowing about it.

"Hmm, you drive a hard bargain," the old toad said as he adjusted his glasses, making Daisy wait in suspense. "But alright. I promise not to tell any of them."

"I'm going...I'm going golfing at the Badlands today," Daisy said, and Toadsworth gasped, catching his glasses before they fell off his nose completely. He coughed.

"Daisy, I..." he began, shaking his head.

"YOU PROMISED!" she said, looking at him as if she were warning him to not break this promise.

"...Yes, I suppose I did," he said, putting his head down for a few seconds. She was heading out the door. "But Daisy..." he looked back up at her.

She turned back around, wondering what in world he wanted to say now.

"As much as I want to scold you and make you come back in here immediately, I know I cannot do such a thing to you. You're not my princess to look after, but please...just be careful."

"I will," she said.

"Promise me," he said sternly. He still had to hold his ground with her.

"Okay, I promise you I'll be careful...I'll be home after dinner, maybe," she said, and then she was off to the park to meet Waluigi.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter Eight: Golf at the Badlands**

Daisy never told Waluigi about the whole Toadsworth incident, but she was determined to have a good time anyway.

"Don't worry, no one will look for you here," Waluigi said.

When he said that, she became a little worried, just in case something did happen. She felt a little more secure now that Toadsworth had caught her sneaking out. He'd eventually send some people if she wasn't home around the time she said she'd be. That made her feel a little safer. After all, she was with Waluigi, not Boo or Shadow Mario.

She was trying her luck at the Badlands course, and there were plenty of obstacles to pass through. All she hoped was that she could keep her ball under control. Well, her and Waluigi's ball. They were playing doubles.

"Hey, it's Waluigi!" Shadow Mario exclaimed from behind Boo. The two looked to see their friend and...Daisy?

"Whoa whoa! Waluigi!" Boo exclaimed. "Is that...Daisy?"

"Yes, I am the real Daisy," she said, smirking. "Not a look alike."

"Ooh, Waluigi's a player!" Shadow Mario said.

"Just be nice to the lady and you stay on my good side today," Waluigi said, eyeing Boo.

"What? I can be nice!" Boo exclaimed, though it didn't convince Waluigi. It convinced nobody.

The first few rounds weren't so bad. She was able to keep the ball under control, and she'd made a few decent putts. They were all just warming up though.

"So," Boo said to Daisy as Waluigi was aiming for the shot. "What are you doing out here with him?"

"He asked me to go, I just said yes," Daisy said.

"I find that hard to believe," Boo answered. "You aren't the type to just go along with what Waluigi or Wario have to say...unless of course you've seen the _other_ side of Waluigi."

By then, Waluigi had made the shot, and it was Boo's turn to shoot. Daisy thought about what Boo had said. Had Boo also seen what Waluigi was capable of...when he wasn't with Wario? Maybe he did have a few good friends. Boo wasn't so bad himself. She found him a tolerable...ghost...to talk to.

Daisy was up to putt on the next hole, and Shadow Mario began talking to Waluigi.

"So, how'd you convince her to come with you? Did you blackmail her or somethin'?" he asked Waluigi.

"No..." Waluigi said. "I'd rather not talk about it."

"You like her," he said right out in a whisper.

"Maybe I do," Waluigi replied. "That's why I don't want you and Boo screwing things up."

Boo was watching Daisy line up her shot. This was one curvy hill, and he was curious to see if she'd make it to birdie. When she hit the ball, it curved right into the hole.

"Impressive," Boo commented as he wrote down her score...somewhat honestly. "You're a pretty good golfer."

"You're not so bad yourself," she replied, picking up her ball and getting out of the way so Shadow Mario could make his putt. He too made his shot.

When they came to hole eight, Daisy made her shot over the lava, but then she wondered how they were supposed to get to the other green. It was a pretty far jump.

"How do we get over there?" she asked Waluigi as Boo teed off.

"I'll show you. It's not real lava," he told her. "We all just act like it is to scare people...like Peach and Mario."

Daisy figured out that on this hole, it looked like you had to jump, but really, there was a small cave built into the Bowser statue that acted as a waterfall for the "lava".

"Go ahead, touch it," Waluigi said when they became merely an inch or two away. She reached out her hand and quickly pulled back.

"Ow! It's hot though!" Daisy said.

"It's hot water, but it's nothing like lava. Some Shy Guys dye it yellow and orange. The red comes from the bottom of the course. It's made of something...I forget the name of the stuff, and that reflects off of everything that's shiny. So, it's just hot water," Shadow Mario told her.

"Of course, this is something you can never tell Mario, Peach, and all those other folks," Boo said. "It would totally ruin the image of the Badlands."

Daisy nodded, but was glad to know Bowser wasn't totally heartless towards his own people. It sure was a good replica of lava though. She wondered how the others got across then. She'd never noticed this cave here before. She hadn't golfed on the Badlands though, so perhaps it was made to trick, like Boo was saying.

* * *

><p>By the end of the game, it was a tie, and they were content with leaving it at that. It had been a long day, and Daisy was beginning to get a little tired out. Boo and Shadow Mario went their own ways after the game. Waluigi walked Daisy out of the Badlands area.<p>

"I'm not sure how far I can take you," he said when they emerged from the course.

"Well, when someone comes by just go your own way," Daisy said. "I'll be fine." He agreed, and before a Koopa Troppa showed up on the streets in the Mushroom Kingdom, the two had already arranged another plan to see each other.

"You know, sneaking around like this...I don't know how much longer it will last," Daisy said.

"Maybe if I proved that I wasn't such a bad guy to other people, the image of us hanging out wouldn't be so bad," Waluigi said.

"How do you plan to do that? The circumstances would have to be like mine were," Daisy asked. "Near impossible."

"I don't know, maybe you could help me with that," Waluigi said. "Do you know of anything in the castle that needs a little work on? I'm no plumber, but I did do some gardening in my past. Painting is fine with me too."

"I'll look around and see what I can do," Daisy said. "But I suppose you still want to be seen as a villain."

"Eh," Waluigi said. "Sort of. I mean, I like the privacy benefits. I'm not too social with people, as you can see. But, I guess I'm just tired of being looked at all the time as mean and nasty. That's not all I am."

"I know," Daisy said. "I can see Boo is the same way."

"People just don't give Boo and his race the time of day," Waluigi said. "But, yeah. Sort of like Boo. He's not so bad."

When they did go their separate ways, Daisy came through the back door of the castle. She didn't want to face Peach, or Luigi if he were still here.

"How was it?" Toadsworth asked. He'd been sitting in a chair right by the back door, as if he knew she'd be here.

"It went fine," Daisy said. "We tied."

"Well, you were home, so I can't complain," Toadsworth said. "I'm not going to ask who you were with, but do know this...I covered for you. I told Peach, Mario, and Luigi you were out golfing at Cheep Cheep Falls. I felt absolutely horrible for lying to them, but I thought I'd save you some drama. I caught you once, but if I catch you again, don't think I'll cover for you again like that."

"Alright, that's fair," Daisy said. "Thank you, Toadsworth."

"Good night, Daisy," he said.

"Good night, Toadsworth," she replied, heading upstairs to take a shower and get ready for bed. It'd been quite the day.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter Nine: A What?**

"Hey Daisy," Peach said one morning. "Would you mind going out on a double date?"

"A What? Where?" she asked.

"A double date! I was thinking maybe us and the Mario Brothers would go down to Koopa Beach and play some volleyball. You could swim too if you wanted," Peach said.

"Um...I guess so," Daisy said. "Mario finally asked you out?"

"Well, I wouldn't say 'asked out', but he asked me if you and I wanted to go with him and Luigi down to the beach," Peach explained. "He told me to ask you too."

"Sure, I'll go," Daisy told her. "When?"

"Tomorrow," Peach said.

"Fine, but don't think I'm going to be all...smitten with Luigi," Daisy said. Peach nodded, and that was the end of that conversation.

Her and Peach played singles on the tennis court. The two princesses sometimes bonded like this, if bonding was even the right word. They hung out, and Daisy didn't mind Peach _that_ much. Perhaps she'd been a little overdramatic with Waluigi about that. She didn't really consider Peach her best friend, but they did hang out sometimes. They didn't talk about personal things, but sometimes some interesting conversation came up.

"So," Peach said that evening. "have you ever had a man in your life?"

"Nope," Daisy replied as they sat together by the fireplace. "I didn't think I needed one really. I can take care of myself."

"So, you never thought about having a boyfriend or someone you could spend the rest of your life with?" Peach asked.

"Well," Daisy sighed. "I do have to admit, I've thought about that one. It'd be nice to have someone like that."

"I've been thinking about all that and more," Peach said. "Do you think I'll ever get it?"

"I don't know," Daisy said. "I'm not really the expert on that sort of thing."

"Well, I was hoping one day Mario and I...could have something like that," Peach sighed, staring into the flames. "After all, he's saved me so many times and I've had a lot of fun with him. It's just right now, it seems all we are...it's just a friendship."

"I think when the time is right, you should talk to him about this, not me," Daisy said, shifting her position.

"I just thought I'd tell you because...you're my friend Daisy," Peach said, looking at the other princess.

"Thanks," Daisy said. "I think that you and Mario have a chance together."

"You think?" Peach said, her eye glimmering with hope.

"Of course," Daisy said. "I don't think Mario has anyone else in his life...like that. You hang with him a lot, and I'm not the type for dating. Not that I'm interested in Mario anyway like that."

Peach sighed again, and Daisy took into consideration that everything she just said Peach may not have heard. They sat together, looking at the flames in the study where Toadsworth was just an hour ago. They came here to talk sometimes, for it was one of the few places in the castle that had a pretty fireplace.

"Well ya know," Peach began. "That Luigi, he's pretty nice..."

"Peach! I don't know," Daisy said, looking back to the flames. "I don't think I want anything like that right now in my life."

"He likes you," Peach told her. "Mario talked about it last time we went golfing together. Luigi was at home that day, but Mario kept saying how Luigi would talk about you. Then he told me that Luigi liked you."

Daisy was silent at that piece of information. Luigi was interested in her, but she wasn't sure if she was in return. Waluigi seemed a little more appealing to her at the moment. She'd spent more time with him and she knew him better already.

"Well, let's just see how this double date goes then, if you could call it that," Daisy said.

"Yeah, I suppose you're right," Peach said. "I'm glad we had this talk. That's been in me for so long I had to tell someone. You have anything you want to get off of your chest?"

"...Nope," Daisy replied. "Nothing I can think of. But, I'll tell you if I do."

Peach smiled. "Okay. Good night Daisy." Peach got up and walked out of the study and into her room for the night.

"You're hanging out with _someone_," Toadsworth said from behind her. Daisy wasn't surprised to hear him, for she heard another door open and it was after he'd said those words when he hopped up onto the office chair.

"Yep," Daisy said. "But you're not going to tell Peach who because I won't tell you."

"Fine with me," Toadsworth said. "I don't even want to know. You can get into trouble I learned after spending a week with you. You don't mean to get into it, it just sort of...finds you."

"You're right about that," Daisy said. "Well, I'm goin' to bed. Good night, Toadsworth."

"Before you do," Toadsworth said, making her stop. "Just tell me it's not Wario."

"It's NOT Wario!" Daisy exclaimed. "EW! That would be _so_ wrong. Good night, Toadsworth."

She then left the study, and heading up to her room, she thought of Waluigi. When she climbed into bed, she texted:

_Gotta go with Peach to beach tomorrow. Might have fun, but when's next time for you and me?_

A few minutes later, Waluigi texted her back:

_We can play some dodgeball. Wario's havin a party in a few days. No bowser so ur good. Boo should b there 2. I'll text u with a date. Find any work?_

She texted instantly back:

_Sry, didnt look. I will, promise. I'll go to the party._

Another text:

_Cool. TTYL, Daisy :-)_

And her final text:

_SYL, Waluigi... :)_


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter Ten: Double Date**

"I can't believe you talked me into this," Daisy said.

"Oh, it'll be fun!" Peach said excitedly. The two princesses were packing for the beach, wearing their swimsuits under their clothing. Daisy finished applying her sunscreen.

"Okay..." Daisy said. "I like volleyball, so I suppose it won't be that bad."

"What is wrong with you?" Peach asked, putting her hair up. "I thought you like Luigi!"

"I do, just not...like that," Daisy said, adding her little secret in her head.

"Well, don't worry about that today. It's not like he's going to just ask you out or take you to dinner tonight," Peach said. "It's just a day of fun at the beach."

The two walked out of the castle in their sandals with their beach bags slug over their shoulders.

It was a nice day, Daisy had to admit that. The sun was shining brightly and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. Another nice day in the Mushroom Kingdom. Come to think of it, Daisy couldn't remember even one day when there was a lot of rain. There were days when it did rain, but not for long.

* * *

><p>"There's Mario and Luigi!" Peach exclaimed. They had already walked to Koopa Beach? Daisy must've been lost in her thoughts the entire walk. She hoped Peach didn't say anything important or embarrassing to her. If she did, Daisy missed it!<p>

"Princess!" Mario exclaimed, making Luigi turn from his game of water volleyball with a few Yoshis and Koopa Troopas. The volleyball hit his head and he made a great _SPLASH_ as he fell into the water.

"Or, should I say princesses?" Mario questioned, looking at Daisy. "Hello Daisy."

"Hey Mario," Daisy said, seeing Luigi come up again from the water. A green Yoshi was laughing at Luigi.

"Luigi's ...right there," Mario said, looking out into the water. Luigi was coming towards them. Daisy just stood there, hoping for the best.

"Hey Daisy. Hi Peach," Luigi greeted. He seemed out of breath from running toward the shore.

"Hi Luigi," Peach said.

"Hey," Daisy replied. "So...what are we doing today?"

"Water volleyball!" A yellow Yoshi yelled from the water. "Come on in!"

Daisy ran to the Yoshi after taking off her clothes to reveal her swimsuit, setting her stuff down by Peach's, which was under a pink umbrella. Luigi followed her.

"Do you notice something different about Daisy?" Mario asked.

"She has been acting a little strange," Peach sighed. "But, we can't concern ourselves with her. You said something about surfing..."

"Ah yes," Mario said happily. He pointed out to where a bunch of Toads were out with their surfboards today. "We can go rent some boards. Come on."

"I got it!" Daisy yelled, jumping to retrieve the volleyball. She splashed into the water, but at least she set the ball up. Luigi spiked it, and the Koopa Troopa missed the ball.

"Did we get it? YEAH!" Daisy yelled after she came up again. "That was fun."

"Hey, Daisy," Luigi said. "Could we go up on the sand for a little bit. I wanna talk to you."

A knot tied in Daisy's stomach.

"Okay," she said, trying to sound confident. They came up on the sand and sat under an umbrella to keep the hot sun out of their faces.

"Um, Daisy," Luigi said.

"Yeah?" the princess asked.

"I..I was w-wondering if you- if you wanted to uh- possibly..." Luigi was stuttering.

"What is it?" Daisy asked. She just wanted to get this over with!

"If maybe you'd wanna-go out with me," Luigi asked.

Daisy knew Luigi was the shier brother of the two of them, but she had no idea he was this shy. He said it like he wasn't sure, and Daisy felt bad about wanting to just say no. It seemed like Luigi wanted to ask this of her a long time ago, but she never took much notice.

"Uh," now Daisy was the one stuttering. "I don't know Luigi. I was thinking maybe we should get to know each other better." She felt better about saying that than what she was originally going to say to him.

"Okay," Luigi said. Daisy knew he saw hope in the situation, but Daisy wasn't so sure about all of this. She didn't want to just lead Luigi onto something that might be between them when it wasn't true for her.

"Hey!" that yellow Yoshi yelled. "You two comin' back out or what?"

"Come on," Daisy said. "Let's just...have fun today." She walked with him back to the water, somewhat relieved that what they had just talked about was out of the way now.

They played a few games of water volleyball when out of the blue, Boo showed up.

"Heheheh," Boo said. "How's it goin' everyone?" The Yoshis greeted Boo to Daisy's surprise.

"Hey Boo," Daisy greeted. "What are you doin' here?"

"I'm here with Lady Bow," Boo replied, winking an eye at her. Daisy wondered if that was some sort of a signal to her that Waluigi was here too.

"How about a three on three?" the Koopa Troopa asked.

"Sounds good to me," Boo replied.

"Who's our third party member?" Luigi asked.

"I am," Boo said. Luigi turned a little blue around the face. Daisy knew he wasn't much for ghosts.

"Come on," Daisy said. "Give Boo a chance. They aren't that bad you know."

"How would you know?" Luigi asked. Daisy stuttered on that for a minute before Boo stepped in.

"I...ran into Daisy one scary day," Boo said. "circumstantial merely. Come on, let's play!"

A green Yoshi joined the other team. Boo started with the ball, gave another wink to Daisy, then served.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter Eleven: You Forgot Something...**

After their double date, the two girls returned to the castle.

"How was the outing?" Toadsworth asked as he came up the hallway, a leather book in his hands and his glasses hanging on his neck.

"Great!" Peach said quickly. "We had lots of fun, right Daisy?"

"Yeah," Daisy said. "It was fun." Toadsworth eyed Daisy before the two made their way upstairs to shower.

Daisy thought about Boo as she showered. _He's not the type to show up on the beach, though I suppose Lady Bow was an excuse to go somewhere. Still, he'd acted strange_. As Daisy stepped out from the shower and wrapped herself in a towel, she heard the castle doorbell ring.

"I've got it!" Toadsworth called. It was only seconds later, that the old toad had let out a surprised and terrified sound. Daisy and Peach opened their doors, towels wrapped around them, to make sure Toadsworth was okay.

"Oh my goodness! Boo! You scared me half to death!" Toadsworth exclaimed.

"I'm quite good at that, intentional or not," Boo replied. "Sorry to scare you like this today, but I found these at the beach. I think it belongs to one of the girls."

Daisy went back into the bathroom to change into the yellow lounge suit she had in the bathroom with her. She came back out, seeing Peach was still in the bathroom.

"Ah, that's probably Daisy's..." Toadsworth said. It was and orange towel and a volleyball.

"I can get it," Daisy said, heading down royal red carpeted stairs. Toadsworth looked back to see her coming towards them. He stepped out of her way and she retrieved her items.

"Thanks Boo, I can't believe I left the towel with the volleyball there. I guess I forgot about it when Peach suddenly moved our stuff," Daisy said.

She was glad Peach hadn't been out of the bathroom because Princess Toadstool would've called her out. Daisy knew she had everything with her in the bag, so she wondered how her volleyball _and_ towel ended up with Boo...

"Okay, thank you Boo," Toadsworth said. "Good night."

"Have a scary night guys," Boo replied, winking at Daisy again before the old toad shut the door. Toadsworth looked at Daisy.

"What?" Daisy exclaimed. "I thought I had everything. I did have everything!"

"Well then, why is it that Boo came over to give you those things back?" Toadsworth asked.

"He must've gotten into my stuff or something on purpose," Daisy replied.

"Why would he do that?" Toadsworth asked.

"I don't know!" she exclaimed, looking down at her towel. Wedged tightly between the towel and the volleyball was a piece of paper. "Wait...there's a note..."

"Oh?" Toadsworth asked. "So, Boo is trying to get a message to you?"

"No...it's from Luigi," Daisy lied, but it was good one.

"AH! Well, I suppose using Boo is the best way to sneak notes around," Toadsworth said, no longer suspicious. He yawned, announcing he was going to sleep.

The note was actually from Waluigi. Daisy didn't even see him at the beach, and when would he even have time to converse with Boo? Daisy walked back upstairs to her room and set her dirty clothes into the hamper. She organized her stuff from her bag and put the items back into their places.

She sat on the bed when she heard a rustling coming from her closet. She had a hunch as to who it was...

"Okay Boo, you can come out now," Daisy said. "No one's here." Out from the closet emerged Boo.

"Phew! That closet reeks of perfume," Boo said. "Did you read the note?"

"No!" Daisy snapped, a little angry with him for making her lie to the old toad. "What are you doing in my room?"

"I came on the account of Waluigi," Boo answered. "He wanted to make sure you read the note and that you understand what he means. Writing isn't really his thing, if you know what I mean."

Daisy opened the note and read it to herself:

_I'm writing this to you Daisy, because I cannot keep being so secretive with our relationship. I think we should either come out with it or we should go our separate ways. I'm sorry to make it sound like this, but I'm not confident we'll be able to keep this up. I am seen as a villain, and that is how I will always be seen. However, I'm okay with this. I can manage on my own. _

_Daisy, I loved the time I've spent with you, but I understand if you don't want to come forward. If you meet me somewhere down the road, perhaps we can be friends..._

_~Waluigi _

"I understand," Daisy said, sighing.

"Alright, boo the way, I'm sorry Daisy," Boo said. "I don't think you should come forward with the relationship. Being friends is probably already forbidden with that old toad."

"I know, you're right...but they're my friends...I have my own plan Boo. Now I need your help," Daisy said, smiling slyly like she always did whenever she had a plan up her sleeve.

"Oh, Bootiful," Boo said sarcastically. "Why did I do this?" Daisy whispered to the ghost for a few minutes, and as she went on, Boo began to raise his eyebrows.

"You're plan isn't half bad, Daisy. I'll make sure to do my part. Scare you later," Boo said, floating out the window.

"Thanks Boo," Daisy said, shutting her window after Boo left. Her plan was bold, just like her, but also impressive.


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter Twelve: Boo!**

Daisy already knew what she was going to do, but she was slightly afraid because there was a large probability that her friends wouldn't accept anything she had to say. She was willing to be friends with Waluigi, and perhaps more. The princess already knew that no one would accept that. Well, no one except Boo of course...and maybe Shadow Mario.

It was Boo's job to get Waluigi to the castle. Today was the day, for she had to do this quickly before she changed her mind. Daisy knew this was the right thing to do.

"Peach," Daisy asked. "Is there anyone coming over today?"

"Um, no. Not that I know of," Peach replied. "Why?"

"Well, it's just...I was just wondering," Daisy told her friend. When Daisy left, Peach talked with Toadsworth. It was obvious now that there was something wrong.

* * *

><p>Boo carried Waluigi into Daisy's room, and thrusted him onto the bed. Waluigi's face was planted into the mess of pillow that smelt of Daisy's floral perfume. He rolled himself over, laying on the bed. Boo hid behind the vanity.<p>

"Why'd you go and do that?" Waluigi asked Boo.

"Oh, I could've made that a LOT worse and you know it," Boo replied. "Just shut your trap. I could've thrown you in the closet!"

Just then Daisy came into the room, eyeing Waluigi right away.

"Oh thank goodness you were on time Boo," Daisy said breathless. "Peach and Toadsworth are suspecting something for sure now." Daisy sat on the bed, and Waluigi sat up.

"Okay, I do want to be with you," Daisy said suddenly. "I do because you're the only person who's ever taken the time to really know me. And...I trust you...and stuff. So, are we going to tell them?"

"I like being with you too, Daisy," Waluigi said. "I'm not sure how Wario's gonna take this, but...as long as we're in this together...I'm in." Daisy smiled and crashed into him, wrapping him into a hug so hard they fell backwards, the princess on top.

Waluigi stared into Daisy's eyes, finding that their heads were getting closer and closer by the second. Pretty soon, they were kissing, eyes closed, and completely blissful as to what was around them. Waluigi's hat fell off onto the floor, but no one except Boo cared about that.

They released the kiss, each of them pleasantly confused as to what had just happened. Daisy had never felt this wonderful in her entire life! Neither of them could hide this now. Everything would become too obvious eventually.

"Well, I think it's time we get the drama over with, huh?" Daisy asked, rolling off of him and standing up.

"Uh, guys..." Boo said. "Um, you might wanna turn around..." they looked back and in the doorway...stood Princess Peach, her eyes wider than anyone had ever seen. Over and over, she shook her head, refusing to believe what was right in front of her.

"BOO!" Boo screamed, sticking out his tongue, and she ran down the hallway. Boo slammed the door.

"She saw that didn't she?" Daisy asked.

"Yep, pretty much," Boo replied. They all looked at each other around the room...awkward.


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter Thirteen: Deal With It!**

"I don't know what to tell her," Daisy said now. "You'd think we would have known better."

"Well, the cat is out of the bag," Boo said. "I don't know what to do."

"Waluigi?" Daisy asked, in hopes that he'd have an answer. However, he shrugged.

"All we can do is explain," he said, though he knew that wasn't what she wanted to hear.

Slowly, Daisy cracked the door open, waving her arm for them to follow. Boo floated through the walls, being a show off. Waluigi swallowed hard, a nervous wreck!

"Peach?" Daisy called. "Where you at?"

She heard Toadsworth's voice from downstairs calling to her. Hesitantly, the three of them made their way down the spiral staircase. Both of the royals were staring in shock as she and Waluigi came down the stairs. Inconspicuously, they had clasped their hands together.

A long conversation ensued in the great room, where they sat in chairs as Boo floated about the room, only staying because Waluigi was here and Toadsworth was frightening even to him at the moment. Peach sat in a chair nearest to the fire, but it seemed that every moment, she was about ready to faint.

"Why did you-I'm sorry let me rephrase that..._How_ did this even happen?" Toadsworth asked after many questions had been answered.

The two looked at each other, when Daisy remembered suddenly, her eyes lighting up and widening as she flashed back moment by moment.

"He caught me...he saved my life. I was up in a tree and I slipped. He caught me," she said, a smile on her face. Waluigi remembered that very clearly.

"Then we just started, hanging out," he added.

"Were you two really golfing at the Badlands?" Toadsworth asked.

"Oh you bet your mushrooms they were, Gramps. I was there with 'em!" Boo confirmed.

The old toad sighed.

"Well, I guess that's all I got. You can explain the rest to Mario and Luigi if they ask," the old toad said.

"What are you saying? You're letting Daisy go out with Waluigi? You're going to allow him in the castle?" Peach exclaimed in a rather whiny tone of voice.

"I don't see why not. As long as it's just Waluigi and Boo, I see no problem if they are okay with this. Love is a precious thing, my princess. I can't keep Daisy from hers," Toadsworth said, giving Daisy a small wink.

He'd known since he caught her returning late that one night she went out.

Peach couldn't believe this, and already the gossip was around the very next day. Daisy and Waluigi spent a lot of time in the castle walls, fearing what people would say to them if they were seen together in public. It didn't feel hot for a few days, but when they couldn't take being shut indoors, they decided to head to the tennis courts out back.

There was no one there except Mario and Peach, as usual. Mario looked at Daisy and then Waluigi. He didn't shake his head, but it seemed he was afraid to say a whole lot.

"I don't have much against a-you," Mario admitted. "It's-a Wario. Tennis?" The two accepted the challenge with a smile. Peach could not wrap her head around them though, and that caused a lot of tension.

* * *

><p>There were people who gave them dirty looks, and Wario almost never spoke to Waluigi... for about two weeks. Then he got lonely and started calling more often. Daisy figured that if no one liked them together, then they just didn't really like her at all as much as she thought they did. They weren't true.<p>

That evening, Waluigi took Daisy down by the beach. It was just them, and they sat on the sand, Daisy in her shorts and short sleeved shirt, and Waluigi still in his overalls. His hat was not there though.

"I never thought this could ever happen to me," Daisy sighed.

"What?" Waluigi asked.

"This...you, me, this whole thing. A love like this...I never thought it was possible for someone like me. But, I found it," she said, staring off at the beautiful seawater before them.

"I'll admit, I tried. Many failed, yet the one I thought would never work proved me otherwise," he told her honestly. He pulled a rose from out of thin air and gave it to her.

She accepted it willingly, finally feeling the freedom she'd always longed for.


End file.
